Making an Escaportfolio

Or why, in the midst of my internship research, I gamified my portfolio

Step 3

Balancing the difficulty

The first password : PASSWORD
It’s the easiest one to find, as it is given to the player and explained where to be used simply by dialogue.

It’s placed first because introducing the system of passwords is required for players to understand that this is how they will progress.
And to get them to understand that they will have to interact with things in order to obtain them.

The second password : CORRIDOR
It’s the hardest one to find, as it requires to navigate through the fake desktop and use 3 clues :
- Open the only text that can be opened
- Read the last sentence
- Only read the first letter of each phrase

It’s placed second because at this point, the player knows what they have to do and are starting to understand the narrative.
Plus, they are still curious, so they are still willing to explore and put more effort in their research.
It creates narrative exposition and is a great opportunity to recall some of the information they got to see in the main portfolio.

The third password : MARBLES
It’s easier to find than the second one, harder than the first one, as it requires to find the second password, then play a little game of marbles.
Then, remember where to use it.

It’s placed third because at this moment in the game, the player has reached a peak enjoyment and there is no need to further complicate its experience.
It’s a reward for winning a game and the ultimate barrage to the end of the experience. Double win.